


got this feeling that you can't fight

by kiyala



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-05
Updated: 2014-09-05
Packaged: 2018-02-16 06:15:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2259006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyala/pseuds/kiyala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Courfeyrac is the mailman and also a dork. Combeferre never stood a chance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	got this feeling that you can't fight

**Author's Note:**

> written for the [AU prompt meme](http://kiyala.tumblr.com/post/96342034971) I'm doing on tumblr for #17. mailman(/woman) and person who receives a lot of mail

Courfeyrac is six minutes late. 

Not that Combeferre is keeping track. He's pacing back and forth across his lounge room because he needs a break from his work, that's all. It's not as if he's glancing at the clock every few seconds. He's not. He's certainly not worrying about the fact that his delivery is running a few minutes late, of course he's not. But that's probably because it's not the _delivery_ he's waiting for. 

He hears the mail van just outside and sighs, shoulders sagging with relief. He walks to the front door, pausing as he passes the mirror in the hallway because—well. He just wants to make sure his hair is no longer the wild mess he woke up with. 

He walks outside just as Courfeyrac is opening the door, van stopped in Combeferre's driveway. 

With a smile that does absolutely nothing to hide just how happy he is, Combeferre folds his arms across his chest. "You're late."

"A mailman is never late, nor is he early—"

"You're a fucking dork," Combeferre snorts, shaking his head. "And you _are_ late. I've been waiting for this book for _years_ you know, it's by my—"

"Favourite author," Courfeyrac finishes, nodding, because he _does_ know, because he's been waiting for the same book too. "And you've been waiting for this book since the previous one came out and you stood by the author when her writing schedule was thrown off because of her depression and anxiety, even that one time she had to cancel a signing in your local bookstore."

" _Our_ local bookstore," Combeferre corrects with a small smile. 

"Well," Courfeyrac grins. "…Yeah. I'm so jealous you get to start reading it before I do, I have to wait until I finish work."

"So do I," Combeferre points out. "Even if I am working from home. I have deadlines to meet before I can start reading. We're in the same boat."

Combeferre has been the mailman here for the past few months, filling in for his cousin who is currently on maternity leave. From what Combeferre's pieced together, Courfeyrac is taking a much-needed break from law school. He's doing a wonderful job and Combeferre has come to make friends with him, because of just how often he orders books. He's not really looking forward to when Courfeyrac's contract runs out, but that's several months away, so he'll worry about it when the time comes. 

"We'll discuss it the next time we see each other?" Courfeyrac asks. "Whenever that is. Next time you order another book, maybe."

"Or," Combeferre says, before he can stop himself. "We could meet up before then?"

Courfeyrac smiles. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. We could… I don't know. We could meet up after we've both finished work for the day and read together. I mean, I know it's not particularly social to meet someone just to ignore them in favour of reading a book, but—"

"It sounds perfect," Courfeyrac interrupts. "Actually, really perfect. Let's do it. There's this one café that I really love where the staff don't mind how long you're there for, and there's definitely enough room to just claim a couch for a while. The Musain, do you know it?"

Combeferre laughs, nodding. "I do. When do you want to meet?"

"Six o'clock?"

"I'll see you then," Courfeyrac replies, taking Combeferre's parcel out of his van and handing it over. 

Combeferre spends the rest of the day working as hard as he can to make sure that he has everything done in time to meet Courfeyrac at six. He finishes around five and spends the rest of his time pacing nervously in his home office. It's not even as if he has something to be nervous about. He's just meeting Courfeyrac to read. They're going to be ignoring each other the entire time. No matter how many times Combeferre reminds himself of this fact, he can't get rid of the fluttering, nervous feeling in his stomach. He doesn't stop thinking about how much he _wishes_ this was something more than just reading in each other's company. 

His crush on Courfeyrac is pathetic and he's aware of it, but it doesn't change anything. At the very least, he manages to ignore the nerves for long enough to get ready. He grabs his book and heads out with one last glance in the mirror. He's usually just wearing jeans and a t-shirt when he answers the door for deliveries, but he's swapped his t-shirt for a button-down and a sweatervest this time and he's more or less pleased with the result, even if Courfeyrac is probably not going to notice or care. 

He gets there early, only to find Courfeyrac already waiting for him. The only time Combeferre has ever seen him outside of work is the one time they'd bumped into each other at the bookstore, before they found out their favourite author was cancelling. At the time, Combeferre hadn't taken much notice of what Courfeyrac was wearing but right now, he looks _ridiculously_ gorgeous. Combeferre notices the leather jacket first, then the slim jeans and low boots. When Courfeyrac turns to him, grinning, Combeferre sees the Triforce shirt he's wearing under the leather jacket and it might have just been a crush before, but now he's certain that he's fallen in love. 

"You're early," Combeferre says by way of greeting.

"To make up for being late this afternoon," Courfeyrac replies. "Besides, so are you. Promise not to freak out if I tell you that you look gorgeous?"

"What?" Combeferre blinks.

"Awesome. Let's go inside."

"What," Combeferre repeats, but Courfeyrac is already leading the way inside, heading straight to the counter to order a large coffee. He takes a deep breath to try and calm his pounding heart and follows. 

Courfeyrac bounces on his heels as Combeferre orders his drink, then leads the way over to a pair of couches in the corner of the sitting area. 

"For the record," Combeferre murmurs as he sits down, "I think you're gorgeous too."

Courfeyrac freezes for a moment, then shakes his head with a quiet laugh. "That's not fair."

"Really? A compliment for a compliment. Sounds pretty fair to me."

"Yeah, but…" Courfeyrac shakes his head again. "It's a compliment for the sake of a compliment. Forget it, I'm just being stupid."

"No," Combeferre says quietly. "You aren't being stupid, and I don't compliment people just because they've complimented me. If you'd like me to be any clearer…"

"I really want to kiss you," Courfeyrac interrupts. He's gripping his book tightly in his hands. "I actually want to kiss you more than I want to read this book, and I _really_ want to read this book."

A grin slowly spreads across Combeferre's lips and he leans forward just slightly, only to stop as one of the waiters brings their drinks over. They both nod in thanks and as soon as the waiter is gone, Combeferre turns back to Courfeyrac.

"I think you should," he says seriously. "You should kiss me. You have my permission."

Courfeyrac shifts closer, briefly touching his lips to Combeferre's. When Combeferre doesn't pull away, Courfeyrac kisses him again, slow and gentle. Combeferre puts his book down to rest his hand on Courfeyrac's shoulder, keeping him close. They're both grinning as they pull apart, and Courfeyrac bites his lip.

"Damn, I think I've been wanting to do that since the first time I saw you."

"Me too."

"And now I have to pick between kissing you more, or reading this book I've been looking forward to forever? Unfair."

Combeferre chuckles, pressing another kiss to the corner of Courfeyrac's lips before letting him go. "The sooner we finish reading, the sooner we can talk about it… and kiss again. And then maybe after that we can go on a proper date, and reread the book so we can talk about it some more."

"I like the way you think," Courfeyrac declares, opening his book. "Race you to the end."

Combeferre laughs, incredibly glad that he's managed to find someone as wonderful as Courfeyrac. "You're on."

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Good Life by OneRepublic


End file.
